In search of the Unity in "Unity in Diversity"

Anubha shukla

Unity in diversity-since childhood I am hearing this phrase. Our teachers have always stressed upon presenting India as an epitome of "Unity in Diversity".Up to some extent I have to believe on it. Ameliorated by sequential breezes of migrations that have become a part of life in India, this country encapsulates 24 languages and numerous dialects spoken by millions of people. This multilingual and multicultural nation is a home to innumerous communities, groups and religions.


I do believe in diversity this great country possesses but I am still in search of ....."Unity". I must make it clear that just shouting in a loud unanimous voice that "We are Indians", I don't consider it as Unity. It is a lot more than this. I am in search of a 'driving force' that can unite us for a cause, purpose and for the betterment of the nation.


I saw people speaking aloud for reservations on various grounds and getting political support as well.I am not a pessimist by nature but let's get this fact right--when was the last time they dared to say that my community/religion/group doesn't need any "special status" just because it won't be good for my country? Doesn't it create a rift between the people?Shall I blame presence of diverse groups for this? The problem is we all are selfish by nature. On one side we ask for "right to equality" and on the other side we ask for "special favors".I must mention here that nobody ever raised voice against reservation given to war widow's kids or the tribals living in pathetic conditions. It means , the concept of reservation shall not be completely discarded but it should be genuine.


When Egypt experienced revolution, some people talked about similar kind of revolution against corruption in India. Those people forgot that, may be Egyptian Revolution wasn't governed by Islam but it was driven by Islam. They all shared a common link between them and we lack that common link. Religion can be extremely powerful weapon against any social or political menace, depends how we interpret and channelize it.


Such movements did start in India also but some found the "saffron robe" communal and some had problem with the poster of "Bharat Mata". It really made me think whether the "cause" was not important enough or do we lack something? What's the use of such diversity that stops you to do the right thing and support a well deserving cause? If a religion can bring a revolution in Egypt why doesn't another can bring out a positive change in the society? When such movements fail, it's not failure of One 'Anna' or 'Ramdev', it's our failure to stand in unity. On first place, why do we even need people like Anna and Ramdev to fight for us? Aren't we capable enough? Yes, we are. But we lack any sort of "driving force"...Alaaassss!!!!!! Test for Unity failed again.


"Diversity" and "Secularism"are the two most misused words by Indian politicians.Somewhere they understand our weakness very well and exploit it for their vested interests.'Unity' has been deliberately deleted from "Unity in Diversity".They know it, no revolution can yield results and hence they are safe. Who cares till it doesn't affect us directly in any manner? Be it corruption, be it a blast.


The truth is-- Nothing unites us except CRICKET...But I kept my search on.


I have 35 students in my class and they come from 18 different states of India. We never cared about the country, patriotism, India and our responsibility towards the nation. We didn't even blend with each other because some of us don't understand each other's language. A group of people abused India everyday in front of us.We ignored it once, twice, thrice but for the fourth time stood against them. Not only we started giving them an answer, we started reading about India to give them a better answer. Many of us started learning how to file RTIs. 5 or 6 of us took part in IAC movement. We planned and are at the verge of initiating a publication that will be a platform for youth and will help the school students to develop views about current happenings. That " group" unknowingly united us and acted as a "driving force".
My search for such a "driving force" in India is still on and I am still living in search of "Unity"...I am still living "in the vicinity of hope..".

The Public Court Room

Abhishek Dwivedi

Shakespeare had rightly said” all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. The lines are true in the context of India but in a modified way.” all the world’s a Courtroom; And all the men and women merely Judges.” Today, everyone is a self proclaimed judge in every case. This dangerous precedent has made media the virtual judiciary. Today media is passing the judgments, not news. This is not only lethal for democracy but also for the legal system of the country.

The Arushi case was one of the few cases which received the maximum damage due to media activism contrary to the Jessica case where it proved very helpful. The debates after debates on media, continuous interviews of all accused and related persons not only created a negative atmosphere but made CBI suffer when it decided to go against the parents. When the Court only asked CBI to file the charge sheet against the Parents, media pronounced the judgment. Guilty. Media has snatched the very basic right of every individual-the right to be considered innocent unless pronounced guilty. The power of being a pillar of free and strong democracy is actually attacking its own root. Free press should be the mean of promoting justice, not holding media trials.

The second very interesting point is the shift in the way a story comes out in public. Earlier the story or the news was informative in nature, but now it is more of a conclusion based. Today, Summon is the taken as the judgment document. The mention of name in a charge sheet makes him an accused. Selective and half-baked stories are replacing the real news. And surprisingly it is really making the difference. People are becoming more judgmental rather than observers. The news channels, and also the print media, in quest for better viewership are striking the weak chord of viewers. Add spices and sensationalism to the news. Make it more gloried and large than actually it is. And use the pessimism for the same. We are more affected by the negative thing than a whole bunch of positive things. But the real problem arises when we start looking at an issue with others glasses.

India had a non-political movement after a very long time. Somehow, must say, the media played a positive role here too. The movements of Anna and Ramdev gave media what they wanted. Some glorified it, while others took it with a pinch of salt, but yes, an extensive coverage was done. It would be right to say that, without the media, Anna wouldn’t have done it. On the other part, government, without the help of media could not have demolished Baba Ramdev and his Satyagraha. But this also shows a problem. The biased and tilted face of media. There is a huge divide between the media, one section which is pro-issue and the one anti-issue, while issues ranging from corruption to communalism. Also the main stream media is in the dock after the 2G scam. Its bearing a huge amount of allegations after two senior journalists were directly involved in the Radia tapes. But it’s interesting to note that they were left untouched in the name of free press.

Government also has a very big hand in making the atmosphere like this. Every day or two, one of it minister comes out and starts explaining the legal aspects of a scam. They justify the acts by terming them immoral, not illegal.. Every day, a press conference is organized in which a spokesperson, be it from BJP or government talks about the legal aspects of a scam. Ministers like Kapil Sibal and Law minster V.Moily actually wanted us to believe that legally, there was no 2G scam. Other example was an interview by Mr.Nitin Gadkari, who said B.SYeddiurappa is legally not guilty, but morally is. These incidents are a sign of declining morals in politics. The L\leaders believe as if the whole world is their court room and nobody knows law except them. It shows a decline on the part of democratic values.

But at the end of the day, the problem lies with us. We are the one real force behind all this judgmental journalism. We promote this. In fact we follow this. Today, verdicts are pronounced in bed rooms. Judiciary has been left with symbolic meaning only to punish the culprit physically. Rest, we are judge, we are the lawyer and we are everything. We subject a person, against whom only allegations have been leveled, to a low degree of mental harassment, if the court begins with us and ends with us. We have become conclusive and decisive in nature on the basis of half and partial truths. We judge instances based on tilted stories and biased emotions. And sad part being, the innocents are paying the price of our arrogance. Media and self proclaimed media drives against certain people are a threat to the legal system of India. We need to become more observing and sensitive. We have no right to give ex-parte judgments. Also media needs to redefine and reinvent its role. It has no right to declare someone guilty or innocent. We have an efficient judiciary for it. Also it cannot ruin the life of an innocent by waving charge sheets of police or CBI in the studio. It is highly inappropriate and unjustified. We must remember and respect the basic fact, and I repeat “A person is guiltless, till proved otherwise.” Believe in the law of land and respect one’s legal rights.

The Undemocratic Quest for a Stronger Democracy.

Abhishek Dwivedi

Last few days have been busy for Anna Hazare. Famous for his “fasts”, he did the tough task of heading a mass movement against corruption. His fast was a great hit scoring direct hits at the government and the political brass. The movement gained widespread popularity among the youth who were out to protest against the rampant corruption. The motto was same. To fight against corruption. To speak against the wide spread loot of the country and its exchequer. Anna’s fast was the silence breaking point for the young India who joined the old man in his old and proven method of protest. The great “Satyagraha”. Some parties called it a movement of few; others called it opposition’s bait. And some called it undemocratic. The government and its warriors were out to call it blackmail. While the major part of media tried to navigate away from the marches and protests siding with government, few tried to cash the movement with highly glorified coverage. But the question was and still is. Was it undemocratic?

The soul of democracy lies in the parliament. The parliament and its members are chosen directly by the citizens. They are representatives of people. They have been elected and sent to parliament to represent us and to guard the country’s economic and other interests. What if, instead of guarding the interests, he starts plundering the nation? What if, he turns hostile and forgets his duty towards the country? We cannot let him continue his act of disgrace just because he is an honorable member of parliament. When the savior of democracy starts betraying the very soul of democracy, it becomes important to speak. Same as what Anna ji and the young India did.

Scams after scams were coming out. The last year turned out to be the scam year of India. Scams ranging from land to waves, Space to sea shook the nation. The interesting case of CVC P.J.Thomas and the accompanying shame for government was an important point to think upon. The government appointed a charge sheeted person as the head of India’s supreme anti-corruption body. Basically, what we were told that, A corrupt appointed by another corrupt will investigate all other corrupts. And then we are being instructed to not to question the government as they are chosen by us. Do we really need to keep silence and let this loot happen? I will go with a NO.

CVC Thomas case was a brilliant example of judiciary keeping the government in check and a perfect instance of judicial activism. The series of landmark judgments by Supreme Court provided some hope to the nation. Judiciary was turning out to be the only place where some serious steps were being taken or some serious work was being done. But this was an alarm too. Judiciary taking the prime spot is not good for democracy. Judiciary slamming government again and again was a sign of weakness on the part of democratic government. Over involvement of judiciary to literally save India shows the falling standard and level of democracy and its ethics in the country. Has the democracy lost its supreme place in mind of people to judiciary? The answer must be no. But sadly and unfortunately, the reverse is true. And it is not only scary but alarming too. A people’s movement was need of the hour to show the strength of democracy. To bring democracy back from the claws of darkness. The “India against Corruption” movement actually fulfilled the very urgent requirement. Democracy actually scored a point over judiciary. A case where government took a baby step towards ending corruption without the scolding’s and pushes of Supreme Court. Finally a good sign for democracy happened.

My last point is simple and basic. Even if it takes undemocratic peaceful methods to save democracy, we must go for it. “satyagrahas” are the pre-independence era proven non-violent methods of protest. Corruption is another “Firangi” sucking the blood out of India. To drive out this corruption, any peaceful method must be not only welcomed but appreciated too. To save the respected and pious soul of democracy, this movement was very much required.

But the question still stands. Will the movement reach its destination or will loose its track in someway middle? The answer lies with the people of the country. The young and enthusiastic generation must fight for the country and weed out this corruption. Now it’s up to us if we want to convert the Undemocratic democracy to a strongest and charming one or not. The principle is clear: Its dangerous to right when the government is wrong, but its cowardice to be quite when the government is wrong.

In The Name of The Politics

Anubha Shukla

India- an incredible country that has become a synonym for scams in past few months. Diverse are its people and so are its issues of concern, but the speciality about this country is that not a single issue remains untouched with politics.

India is a place where serious issues are shadowed by so called secular media and almost every thing is politicised to worsen the issue itself. It's a place where a 'Hindu nationalist' is called 'RSS Activist' and a 'Muslim nationalist' is framed as 'kafir' within a blink of an eye by some 'liberals'. Sometimes in the name of majority and most of the times for the votes of the minority, 'truth' is concealed and killed by our politicians. Pragmatically, the only minority in this country are nationalists who can put the country first & don't sell it for their vested interests.

There are no rules, no ethics required to pursue politics in India. As long as you can fool the people successfully to snatch the only right constitution provides them , their vote, you are the

Government.

Democracy has transformed into Demoncracy where 'Votes' are more valuable than lives.

Do the politics on the demolition of a mosque. Promise the people to stand a temple again in the name of the politics. Reopen the corruption cases during elections and bury them deep down into the stacks of files as soon as the elections are over. Don't even leave 'God' unaffected from the dirt of politics. Provoke the people to get into riots. Engage them in talks of Mandir-Masjid so that they don't get time to think about the huge chunk of their countrymen who are dying of hunger sharing the same land. Politicians in our country are so amazing that they can even politicise the hoisting of national flag within its territory. Ironically, the decision which was factually 'wrong' when you were in 'opposition' becomes the 'right' when you are the government. Everything is fine in the name of the politics.

Is Egypt possible in India ?

Abhishek Dwivedi

This year from start has been a year of revolution. Tunisia, Sudan, and Egypt all opted for a Revolution. A revolution for better life, for a better democracy shook the whole Middle East. Now Libiya has started its movement for democracy. The struggle between rebels and Gaddafi has taken the center stage in world politics. NATO and its European friends are trying all their methods to make Gadaffi leave the troubled country. The world is hailing all these revolutions, calling them historical and a new beginning for democracy. The predictions of an Arab revolution are getting louder. But I have remained unsure of these revolutions from beginning. Let’s look into some related terms of these so call historical revolutions. Indian civil society is also predicting and vouching for such a revolution in India. I am trying to review the feasibility on any such revolution in India.

My assessment is a big NO. Egyptian like revolution is not possible neither good for India. Reasons?

First,

India is a multi-layered structural democratic system. It has a decentralized power system. Powers are divided, so is accountability. Yes, the corruption is also at all levels. The recent example is the NREGA scam which involves a minister to a gram Pradhan. The urbanization drive is pushing more citizens below poverty line. But the glitter of cities is hiding the pain of villages. The big buildings are making the trouble of slums look to small. Somehow, miss-governance has been over-shadowed by the over-publicized concept of development. The stories of “Bharat Nirman” and “India shining” are more than enough to give fairly good pictures to Indian people. The Self-assertion of being a super power is thrilling the nation.15 August and 26 January are enough to keep people in illusions under the hood of nationalism. The day a scam breaks out, next day we see India achieving a milestone or at least proclaiming that it will achieve and we forget everything. Also, we have RTI’s in place which have increased the accountability of the government. The concept of dictatorship is frightening if we see the condition of our neighbor Pakistan. It’s a dying economy surviving only on the aid of USA. Egypt has been living under this terror for so long that they ultimately give up. They want to be like us, cherish the democracy we celebrate.

Secondly, India is a highly diversified country. Here each region has its own language and culture. The lack of a national language is also a negative for uprising. The divide and rule policy can be/is employed here conveniently. The linguistic and communal gap has become so divisive due to politics of last 50 years, that it’s impossible to unite all sects of people. You will find no unity in the diversity here. The mixture of religion is politics have always harmed the nation but it has also silently destroyed all prospects of a pan-India revolution. This is the same phenomena we saw in the Anna movement. The controversy related to RSS and Vandematram did the trick for government. It was able to decrease the magnitude of the movement.

Another important point is the emergence of the important middle class.India has a far big middle class which believes that it has nothing to do with the rampant corruption. They think that good governance is related with only inflation and terrorism. Assumption of corruption as necessity is the problem. They have developed a habit of tolerance. Its view that corruption is only limited to top, is lethal. But certainly it makes the way difficult for a revolution. It’s simple; nobody cares till the problem is not personal. Huge uproar was made about the Anna revolution that it has raised the middle class from its never ending sleep. The mighty middle class is on streets. But not even half million of 150 million people belonging to middle class responded to the movement on the ground. We cannot term a fraction of middle class, in fact a very small fraction as the representative of the might middle class.

We enjoy our right to freedom of speech in India. It’s only in India that we call our leaders a thief on national television and escape the punishment. We have our democratic rights. We have all human rights with us. Egypt is fighting for all these. They want the basic rights to be given back to them. They are bleeding for the right to life. We are blessed that our democracy is so strong that it has kept all these values embodied in the pillars on which our nation stands today.

Also, the revolution in Egypt was driven by faith. The sudden rise of Muslim Brotherhood after a long pause was hailed by most of the Arab world. They were called as catalyst of change. But most of the people ignored the fact that, faith can drive masses but cannot govern a nation. Nobody sensed that situation like Iran can arise. No country has been successfully ruled by the Religion. Faith and governance are two different things. Last week’s brutal killing of 13 Christians was a starling incident and proved my fears. The revolution which was hailed as historical has started to show the other side. This is what happens when a revolution takes place without an after plan and a leader. The emergency of situation is alarming in Egypt. It can take the path of civil war there. Rebels have started fighting among themselves. Not surprisingly what Mubarak had said, is coming true. It will be interesting to see what CIA does here. But let’s not shift the topic. Coming back to India, we must agree that we do not need religion as a catalyst for a political change in India. India has had very bitter experience from the fusion.

India has a very troubled neighborhood. Pakistan in west and north, China in east and north, Bangladesh in east, Srilanka in south, it’s not a good picture. Our relationship with China and Pakistan has not been on a good note. LTTE in south is searching for a base to revamp its organization. A revolution will give chances to anti-India forces to silently harm India. Separatists in Kashmir may use the situation to push the valley into chaos again. A state of anarchy may develop. It will be a perfect opportunity for the Maoists to move towards the cities which they have been eying for years. Predictions of civil war cannot be ruled out. Violence may take the center stage. Also our economy is going through a troubled phrase. Rupee is falling day by day while inflation is rising. Our airlines are one by one moving towards bankruptcy. Just imagine what a state of chaos will do to the situation. The burden will fall on the poor along with the lower middle class. Do we really want this?

India has been a sufferer of silence. Here nobody is concerned until it’s personal. But the sudden flood of scams and inflation has changed the circumstances a bit. The urban mass somehow has started rising. But will it take the form of Egyptian revolution? I am still unsure.